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The back of my head says something was lost in translation in the dialog subtitles in this release.... I suspect the verbal jousting was even brilliant but I may have to listen a few more times to provide specific examples.

Even so, it was great to watch them in classic romantic comedy rapier witticisms.

Apparently, all shepherds are looked at with suspicion of being witches and such. They spend most of their time alone, they have this big staff, they're unmolested by wolves...

Even that ritual greeting Lawrence did - it was supposed to insure she wasn't a demon in disguise. See also the blessing she gave him, hinting at magical powers. (I don't mean she's a mage. I mean there are superstitions attached to shepherds.)

That begs one question: don't those people like mutton and wool?

I like Horo's personality just fine. She's fun to watch. Though I'm not sure I could stand being the target of her games. Or that I could afford it...

Apparently, all shepherds are looked at with suspicion of being witches and such. They spend most of their time alone, they have this big staff, they're unmolested by wolves...

Even that ritual greeting Lawrence did - it was supposed to insure she wasn't a demon in disguise. See also the blessing she gave him, hinting at magical powers. (I don't mean she's a mage. I mean there are superstitions attached to shepherds.)

That begs one question: don't those people like mutton and wool?

I like Horo's personality just fine. She's fun to watch. Though I'm not sure I could stand being the target of her games. Or that I could afford it...

Wow that is a good theory, but that is dependant on the area for example:

Spoiler:

In Corsica shepherds where held in high regard until recently due to importing of meat. Currently they are back in fashion due to the organic fad

Personally I'm not too impressed with Nora's canine friend. The biggest and baddest (well cutest) wolf is sitting a stone's throw from them sheep and he hasn't noticed yet

Interesting notes from Ayako ... I've not really started the second volume (avoiding it til series end other than general summaries) so I can't really comment on the credibility. Given "big city" views on rural folk in that time period, it's not terribly unreasonable though.

offtopic: thought about ordering the rest of the light novels..... amazon.co.jp's shipping rates have become quite insane - they're charging using an algorithm that charges by $$ rather than weight so I get charged the same whether there's 5 books in one box or 5 books in five boxes. What a crock.
Off to other sources.....

Well on a lighthearted side of it. At least Horo picked up some interesting information about Lawrence in earlier years. Though I guess discussions wouldn't normally be directed towards that kind of topic .

Maybe the dog has a good sense of self-preservation. Do you honestly want to mess with the giant wolf unless its absolutely necessary?

Apparently, all shepherds are looked at with suspicion of being witches and such. They spend most of their time alone, they have this big staff, they're unmolested by wolves...

Even that ritual greeting Lawrence did - it was supposed to insure she wasn't a demon in disguise. See also the blessing she gave him, hinting at magical powers. (I don't mean she's a mage. I mean there are superstitions attached to shepherds.)

That begs one question: don't those people like mutton and wool?

Thanks for that info, that explains a lot.. Does it explain that in the novels?

This is one series I would actually like to read the novels....... if i could read japanese

The ending was nostalgically eerie. Evil maniacal laughter would make a just-before-the-end plot, and I have no idea where it would go from there. I'm thinking an open ending that will somewhat drive people to translate the novels like it did for Haruhi's 10. Oh lawd, I wish.

I'm having a hard time deciding what rating to give to this episode. Horo's jealousy irked me. That's a negative. How Horo expressed her jealousy and Lawrence's reaction to her reaction amused me. That's a positive. Nora's timidity annoyed me. Nora's mysterious history intrigued me. Negative; positive. The whole episode was like that. Ever negative reaction had a counter-balancing positive one leaving me with a net sum of zero reaction overall. So I'm hemming and hawwing over how to rate the episode.

I'm having a hard time deciding what rating to give to this episode. Horo's jealousy irked me. That's a negative. How Horo expressed her jealousy and Lawrence's reaction to her reaction amused me. That's a positive. Nora's timidity annoyed me. Nora's mysterious history intrigued me. Negative; positive. The whole episode was like that. Ever negative reaction had a counter-balancing positive one leaving me with a net sum of zero reaction overall. So I'm hemming and hawwing over how to rate the episode.

Now i am feeling kinda left out, as i can't really relate to the most complaints about this episode. While on can say that "nothing much happened" ... well, not like we can be in center of feuds between merchant companies, dangerous rescue missions, life threatening escapes and wolf Horo trampling humans all the time. It isn't what attracted me to this show in the first place. We are introduced to a new character, so i can see why they took time to expand on her a bit.

No revelations about Nora ? Is that surprising considering we got hints at her being avoided only at the end of the episode ? I am not expecting every mystery to come with a revelations scroll attached to it the second it is introduced.

I can see why one would like to find out more about the armor, but i don't think just any stranger is going to tell the tale either. Now that Lawrance has reached the merchant guild, i am sure things will get revealed.

Only thing that annoyed me a bit in this episode was Horo's "jealousy", but other than that and some questionable looking far camera pans i can't fault this episode for much.

On a side note - Nora sure reminds me a lot of Nagisa from Clannad. Not only do the two share the same seiyuu, their personalities match rather closely as well. At times i could have sworn i was listening to Nagisa speaking

Overall wasn't bothered by not a lot of answers showing up. Just one of those episodes where the questions get raised and we can start getting some more insight later. At least it'll be interesting to see just what trouble Lawrence and Horo are walking into this time.

There's always a conspiracy around when it comes to merchanting . But it was pretty much a give away once you watched the whole episode, there had to be something that told you "Something's up, must be a conspiracy." or whatever.

I really do wonder what's up with the armor though? Maybe it will have to do with Lawrence's past which may have been shown through that guy calling him "son", and how some random guy knows him, or has heard of him. If there weren't any hidden pasts in anime, well that would be screwed up .

I agree with Skyfall about the action not being the selling point of this show. Frankly, if Horo never has to turn into a wolf again, and Lawrence never has to draw his knife, I'll be perfectly content. They're just not action hero material.

I love Horo being playful. I didn't mind Horo's jealousy. I mean, it makes sense. Having a stranger along means she'll have to be more careful not to slip up with her disguise, and wolves and shepherds are natural enemies.

And so what if this episode didn't provide any answers? It provided questions such as, what's Nora's deal, and what's with those armors? And has Lawrence finally learned to control his bladder? I'm sure we'll get answers eventually, except maybe for the bladder thing.